Why Emirates is open to flying with Etihad
singapore — Emirates is open to cooperation with Etihad Airways in areas including procurement, its president Tim Clark said on Wednesday, adding a full merger between the pair was unlikely but up to the owners.
“I think there is value to be had working more closely with them,” Clark told Reuters by phone, adding there might be concerns from regulators in some foreign markets. “There are many areas that the airlines could work together on like procurement. But we have to go the first jump first to understand what it is we could do and I’m simply the manager of one of the businesses,” he said.
“It is my superiors who have to make that call, not me.”
When asked if the pair could pursue a merger along the lines of Europe’s Air France and KLM, Clark said: “I don’t think that will be the case but it is not my call, really. It is whatever [the shareholders] may do in the future.”
Etihad said in response to Clark’s remarks that it was common for airlines to leverage in-country expertise and economies of scale. “We constantly seek opportunities for innovative collaboration with other organisations, where it makes business and commercial sense,” an Etihad spokesman said in an emailed statement.
Clark said an order for more was under consideration, adding that any A380 order would help replace 25 A380s due to be retired in the mid-2020s. He did not give any details on the likely volume of any order or whether a deal would be signed at the Dubai Airshow next month. —